Community Forums

GorgeDad · 09-18-2014, 12:29 PM

Can anybody provide info on whether its possible to use a single tow vehicle to pull either a fifth wheel or a truck camper?

I was wondering if the presence of the fifth wheel hitch in the bed obstructs the truck camper. If so, is the fifth wheel hitch easily enough removed if you need to put a truck camper on or is it permanently mounted?

Thanks!

Skip426 · 09-18-2014, 01:12 PM

The 5er, hitches in my last two , tow vehicles were , removable , leaving only rails in the P/U bed, I had hard rubber mats 1/4" thicker than the rails, around them, tall enough to give a level surface over the rails, I only used the set up for hauling building materials , but could have loaded a camper.
Hitches came out in two pieces , about 50>70 lbs. each. awkward , but manageable for one person.

rgvtexan · 09-18-2014, 01:35 PM

The 5er Hitch in my truck was also removable only leaving the rails. To haul the Camper, I used 2ea 8'x2'x2" pink insulation foam from Home Depot. It is a high density foam, with all the area the Camper does not squash it. I cut slots for the rails with a hand saw. Full support, light weight, water proof, easy to store, and worked great. So much better than the 2x4 frames I have seen others use.

SmokeyWren · 09-18-2014, 03:00 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GorgeDad

Can anybody provide info on whether its possible to use a single tow vehicle to pull either a fifth wheel or a truck camper?

There are two basic types of 5er hitches -
1] Those with "industry standard" bedrails in the bed, and
2] Those with nothing but some holes in the bed when the hitch is removed.

You can haul a truck camper in the bed of either kind. As others have noted, if you have the rails in the bed, then you can add spacers about the same thickness as the rails to give the base of the camper something to sit on.

Better is to have no rails in the bed, so you have a flat floor to stand the camper on. Those have under-bed rails instead of above-bed rails. The best example is the Fifth wheel prep kit that is optional on new Fords and Rams. The rails are installed under the bed at the assembly plant. The actual hitch is available either as an option from Ford or from any Reese hitch dealer. Look up the Reese Elite 5er hitch.

Two other hitches that leave nothing in the bed include the B&W Companion hitch and the SuperGlide automatic slider hitch for short-bed trucks.

I was wondering if the presence of the fifth wheel hitch in the bed obstructs the truck camper. If so, is the fifth wheel hitch easily enough removed if you need to put a truck camper on or is it permanently mounted?

Thanks![/QUOTE]

GorgeDad · 09-18-2014, 04:19 PM

Thanks for the prompt and informative responses.

Now i just need to convince the wife to let me sell current truck and tt and buy a bigger truck and 2 campers!!!!!

SmokeyWren · 09-19-2014, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by SmokeyWren

Two other hitches that leave nothing in the bed include the B&W Companion hitch and the SuperGlide automatic slider hitch for short-bed trucks.

I was wondering if the presence of the fifth wheel hitch in the bed obstructs the truck camper. If so, is the fifth wheel hitch easily enough removed if you need to put a truck camper on or is it permanently mounted?

Thanks!

Notice I had to run before I finished that post. And IRV2 won't allow editing after an hour or so. So here's the rest of the post:

Quote:

I was wondering if the presence of the fifth wheel hitch in the bed obstructs the truck camper. If so, is the fifth wheel hitch easily enough removed if you need to put a truck camper on or is it permanently mounted?

The only impact of adding two-by construction lumber spacers around the industry standard bedrails is it raises the center of gravity of the camper 1.5". Truck campers are already top heavy, so some folks do not want to raise them up more, not even 1.5" more.

But hitches with the bed rails in the bed are less expensive than the Reese Elite, B&W Companion, or the PullRite SuperGlide. Plus the installation of the in-bed rails is a lot easier than the installation of the under-bed components of those hitches that don't leave anything in the bed. So most 5er hitches have those in-the-bed rails. The bed rails are bolted in and are by no means "permanently" mounted. It requires about a half-hour for an old man to unbolt and remove the bed rails, and another half-hour to reinstall them. Most folks don't bother with removing the bed rails, but it is easily done if you don't want that extra 1.5 inches of raised center of gravity.

Scottybdivin · 09-21-2014, 09:39 AM

As mentioned, one method is the Ford or Ram OEM 5th wheel prep. It can be installed/removed in about 2 min w/o any tools, and leaves a clean bed. One of the best options ever IMO.